Vertical variation and storage of nitrogen in an aquic brown soil under different land uses

Abstract

The vertical variation and storage of nitrogen in the depth of 0–150 cm of an aquic brown soil were studied under 14 years of four land use patterns, i.e., paddy field, maize field, fallow field and woodland in Shenyang Experimental Station of Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in November of 2003. The results showed that different land uses had different profile distributions of soil total nitrogen (STN), alkali N, ammonium (NH4 +-N) and nitrate (NO3 −-N). The sequence of STN storage was woodland>maize field>fallow field>paddy field, while that of NO3 −-N content was maize field>paddy field>woodland>fallow field, suggesting the different root biomass and biological N cycling under various land uses. The STN storage in the depth of 0–100 cm of woodland averaged to 11.41 t·hm−1, being 1.65 and 1.25 times as much as that in paddy and maize fields, respectively, while there was no significant difference between maize and fallow fields. The comparatively higher amount NO3 −-N in maize and paddy fields may be due to nitrogen fertilization and anthropogenic disturbance. Soil alkali N was significantly related with STN, and the correlation could be expressed by a linear regression model under each land use (R 2≥0.929,p<0.001). Such a correlation was slightly closer in nature (woodland and fallow field) than in agro ecosystems (paddy and maize fields). Heavy N fertilization induced an excess of crop need, and led to a comparatively higher amount of soil NO3 −-N in cultivated fields than in fallow field and woodland. It is suggested that agroforestry practices have the potential to make a significant contribution to both crop production and environment protection.